Grain door



31, 1933. F, E, HUMMEL ET AL l 1,895,625

GRAIN DOOR Filed June 18, 1931 549. 1., r /A ilIl WWW

A TTORNEYJ` Patented Jan. 31, 1933 UNITED STATES FREDERICK n. HUMMEL Ais1) ANDREW w. FOLEY, oF Hornwrmr., vinerma GRAIN 'DOOR Application le June 18,

' This invention relates to improvements in grain doors. l When box and freight cars are to be loaded with bulk or granular material, the door 5 openings of said cars, from the floor upwardly to somewhat below the door openings, are closed by grain doors. The prior type of grain doors in use had certain disadvantages, one of the greatest of which is that with the prior type of rain doors, considerable leakage of material occurred through openings Caused by the unevenness of the surface where the grain door came into contact with the Car floor, and also along the lines of joints of the 5 several sections of the grain door with one another.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a grain door which, will overcome the above objections, the present grain door being so constructed that it is formed along its lower edge with an angularly projecting lip or flange adapted to be secured to the car floor to absolutely seal the lower edge of the grain door against leakage. In the present constructionleakage along the sides of the grain door is also prevented due to the arrangement of the door whereby the side portions of the grain door proper are secured to inner side portions of the car adjacent the 30 Car door, and further, angular side flaps 0r fianges are also provided which are also secured to the ear sides.

A further object of the invention is to provide a grain door which can be formed in any desired number of superimposed units to any desired height, and in the case of a multiple unit grain door, each section is provided with a depending fiange to overlap the upper portion of the door section theiebelow, said overlapping ange being held tightly in sealing position by its own rigidity and by the pressure of the car contents thereagainst, thereby preventing leakage at the joints between sections. i i A further object of the invention is to provide a grain door which is inexpensive to manufacture and is of very light weight which results in a considerable *saving in my freight, and is simple to install.

W ith the usual type of grain door when 1931.Y serial No. 545,232.

the same is in use, it is very difiicult to remove tlie grain door so that the cargo may be unloaded, and in some instances it is necessary t-o knock the grain doors out-:with an improvised battering ram. In the present in- 55 vention this `flifliculty is overcome, due to the fact that the body of t'iie grain door is formed of a fibrous sheet material which may be readily cut, and when a cargo is to be unloaded with the present Atype of grain door, a worker 39 from exteriorly of the car may cut a threesided opening in the door sheet and bend a section of the same outwardly, providing an opening for some ofthe loaded material to run out of, relieving pressure on the inner 33 side of the grain door, and permitting its easy removal.

A further object of the invention is to provide agrain door which is of very simple construction, is strong and durable, and is wellcm adapted for the purposes set forth.

` lilith the above and other objects in view the invention consists of the improved grain door, and its parts and combinations as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents 75 thereof. i

ln the accompanying drawing in which the same reference characters indicate the saine parts in all of the views:

Fig. l is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through a portion of a box or freight ear showing a one-section grain door, of the improved type, applied to the door opening and secured in position; f

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1;'

Fig. k3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. @t is a view similar to Fig. l only show ing the door opening of the box car closed by means of a two-section grain door secured in position;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail sectional view showing the manner in which a portion of the grain door sheeting may be cut and bent outwardly to relieve pressure against the interior of the grain door to facilitate the removal of the grain door. 30@

The improved grain door comprises a wooden framework made up of a plurality Aoit' elongated spaced-apart, parallel horizontal rame members 8, and two or more spacedapart vertical frame members 9. The vertical frame members 9 are spaced inwardly of the ends of the horizontal frame members 8 -and correspond in length to the height of the grain door section.

The horizontal frame members 8 are suiiiciently long to overlapl the sides of the door opening of a car so as .tobe attachable or securable to the car door frame.n The various frame members 8 and V.9 are secured together at their points of junction.` The entire frame is covered on one side by a sheet 10, said sheet being nailed to the various frame members as indicated by the numerals 11. Said sheet is preierably formed of nbre-board but within the scope of the present invention it may be formed of any relatively thin, light and strong sheet material, such as wood veneer, metal, or any other similar material. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the lower edge of the sheet 10 is provided with a right-angular inwardly extending flange 12. The end portions of the sheet material 10 are extended a considerable disend of the door opening.

The grain door is secured within the door` opening by nails 16 passed through the end portions of the horizontal frame members 8 and into adjacent portions of the frame 17 of the door opening. In this manner the grain door is secured to the frame of the door opening. The inturned flange 12 at the lower edge ofthe grain door provides a means for sealing the lower edge of the grain door with respect to the floor 18 of the car. Said flange is nailed securely to the floor as shown.`

The end iiaps 13 of the sheeting of the grain door provide means for sealing the ends of the grain door against the car inner side walls, to prevent leakage. Said end liaps 13, because of their flexibility, are bent inwardly and their end portions are nailed against the inner side walls of the car as indicated at 19. l/Vhe'n it is desired to provide a grain door for closing a door opening, of two or more sections, the lower section of the grain door is formed similarly to the grain door described, and is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Said lower grain door section may be of any desired height. The upper section of a multiple section grain door is illustrated clearly in Figs. 4 and 5 and is formed of a frame-wor'lrof secured together horizontal and vertical frame members 8 and 9 respectively, c`overed by a sheet 10. The sheet 10 extends somewhat below thc lowermo-t horizontal frame member 8 so as to provide a lower overlap 20. The outer ends of the sheet 10 are extended beyond the ends of the horizontal frame members 8 to provide end securing flaps 13.

The lower section of a multiple section grain door is secured within the car adjacent the door opening in the same manner as that described in connection with the single section door in Figs. l, 2 and 3. Then, the next section is positioned adjacent the upper edgeof the lower section with its lowermost horizontal frame members 8 resting on the upper ends of the Vertical frame members 9 of the lower section. Said upper section is secured to the door frame 17 by nails 16. The overlap 20 overlaps the upper portion of the sheeting 1() of the lower section and seals the joint between the two `sections against leakage. The end securing flaps `13 of the upper section are secured to the inner side walls of the car by nails 19.

In a box car fitted with the improved grain doors, the workmen who secured the doors in place may escape from vthe car over the tops of the grain doors. Usually the cars are not filled completely full of bulk material and are loaded through the spaces over the gain doors. In some instances the cars may partially loaded prior to the application of the grain doors by loading material into the cars high at both ends thereof, and then the doors are installed and when the cars are in transit material levels off within the cars.

The grain door of the present invention is susceptible of easy removal from a car, at the cars destination, to facilitate unloading of the cargo. Due to the sheet material employed composing the body of the grain door, a workman from exteriorl of the car may form a three-sided cut, designated 21 in Fig. 6, in a lower portion of the grain door. The material severed by the cut may then be bent outwardly, as indicated by the numeral 22, and this will form the opening in the grain door which will permit some of the bulk cargo to run outwardly into a chute already provided exteriorly of the car. When suicient material has run out, pressure against the inner side of the grain door will be relieved and then the grain door may be easily removed. For re-use oi the rain door the cut portion may be bent up into place and so secured, or the opening may be re-coopered with a correctly cut piece of fiber board.

lt should also be understood that the frame work for the grain door may, within the scope of the invention, be formed in a collapsible manner 'for convenience in shipping and storing. T he frame, when set up, will, of course,

be rigid, and can be used over again by applying thereto new iber board panels when the old become too worn.

From the foregoin description it will be seen that the improve grain door is of simple and novel construction and is well adapted for the purposes set forth.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A grain door, comprising a frame, a single, rigid covering sheet mounted thereon, an integralsealing flange projecting from the lower edge of the sheet and extending at right angles from the plane of the sheet and frame inwardly :for non-reenforced securement to the floor of a structure, and integral end securing iaps flexibly extending from the ends of the rame `covering sheet portion for nonreenforced securement to side walls of a structure.

2. A grain door, comprising a frame, a. rupturable covering sheet having a face thereof secured against said frame with the other face thereof exposed, a bottom sealing lange extending angularly inwardly from the lower edge of said sheet for positive securement to theioor of a structure, and bendable end securing flaps extending from the sheet beyond the ends of the frame for securement to side walls of a structure.

3. A grain door, comprising a frame formed of secured together-and crossing vertical and horizontal bars, a single thin, rigid, ruptnrable covering sheet having a face thereof secured a ainst said frame with the other face thereo exposed, a bottom sealing flange extending at right angles inwardly from the lower edge of the outer face of said sheet for positive securement to the floor of a structure, and bendable end securing flaps extending from said sheet beyond the ends of the horizontal bars of the frame for securement to side walls of a structure.

4. A grain door, comprising a frame, and a single, rigid sheet of thin, severable Iibrous material having a. face secured against the trarne and having its other face exposed and covering the entire frame, said sheet being formed with a lower iange joined tov the lower edges of the sheet and securable to a support at substantially right angles to the body of the sheet and extending inwardly of the lane of thesame, said sheet also having end) securing flaps joined to the side edges of the body of the sheet extending be ond the ends of the frame and bendable wit respect to the sheet.

5. A grain door, comprising a lower section including a frame, a single, rupturable covering sheet of semi-rigid material mounted thereon and formed with a bendable lower edge sealing flange and bendable side ianges, and. an upper section including a frame, a single, rupturable covering sheet of semiri id material mounted thereon and formed with bendable side ianges and an integral lower lapping strip extending below its frame and in the plat e of its sheet, the upper section being mounted in superimposed relation to the lower section vwith the lapping strip overlapping the upper portion of the covering sheet of the lower section.

6. In combination with a structure having a floor, side walls, anda door'opening'in the side walls, a closure for said opening, comprising a frame, a thin single sheet material covering for said frame, said covering possessing rlgidity, some of the frame members overlapping the door' opening and being secured to the side walls of the structure, an integral flange joined to the lower edge of said sheet and projecting at right angles thereto inwardly of the plane of the sheet and positively secured to said structure floor, andside flanges extending integrally from the side edges of said sheet beyond the frame and being bent inwardly from the plane of said sheet against side wall portions of the structure and being secured thereto.

In testimony whereof,`we affix our signatures.

FREDERICK E. HUMMEL. ANDREW W. FOLEY. 

